The Legend of Zelda: The Secret Oracle
by zeldafan364
Summary: What happened after Link's adventures in Labrynna and Holodrum? Read this to find out.


The Legend of Zelda: The Secret Oracle  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Link slowly stepped toward the glowing triforce. He had felt something calling in a far off land and had traveled to the temple of time. As he got closer to the rotating triangles, they moved together, and there was a bright flash of light.  
  
Red light surrounded Link, and he fell into a dark abyss. He heard a voice tell him something about a quest. It was just like when he had rescued Nayru and Din. He fell again, into cold, rough water. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Farore looked through her list as she sat at the beach. It was getting boring, looking through the lists of secrets. She wished she could be like Din or Nayru, they could use their powers openly. But she had to keep hers secret, if anyone knew about them she would probably be captured. So she kept disguise and pretended to be the oracle of secrets.  
  
She stretched out on the sand and looked up at the sky. She tried to keep occupied to keep her mind from wandering too far. Out came her portable CD player, and she spent the next few minutes listening to remixes of old songs they used to play in Hyrule. She was glad Nayru had let her travel to the future, it was so much better now.  
  
But suddenly she saw a red streak in the sky, and it fell into the water. Her eyes bulged open and she searched the water. Din had said she saw the same thing before she found Link, the legendary hero. Could Link have come here? If it was him, she couldn't let him drown out there; the current was strong and could pull him out to sea.  
  
She had to use her powers to find him. As she searched, she hoped this wouldn't result in disaster. If someone sensed her power in use, they would surely come find her. But she had to see if that was Link. She located the thing and made the current pull it to shore. It was Link! He was unconscious and was still dressed in the old fashioned tunic. She looked around her and then quickly used her powers to change him into something a bit more modern looking.  
  
His weapons were gone, so she started to make new ones for him but suddenly a shadow covered her. Before she could turn around, she was trapped in a green crystal and couldn't move, couldn't scream. She floated into the air and was transported to a dark room. There was felt freezing breath against the glass and a voice said, "You should never have displayed your powers, so called oracle of secrets." It broke into evil laughter and she lost consciousness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link suddenly awoke. Somebody was standing above him, shaking him. It was a teenage girl. "You finally woke up!" she said.  
  
"Who are you?" Link coughed. His throat stung from swallowing ocean water.  
  
"I'm Katherine, but you can call me Cat."  
  
"What a strange name," Link thought. He squinted. She was small, had light brown hair and wore strange clothing. He looked down at himself and noticed he was wearing strange clothes as well. "Why am I dressed like this?" he asked.  
  
"Maybe because it's the latest fashion!" She rolled her eyes and helped him up. "Come on, I'll show you around the island."  
  
"Fashion?" Link thought, but didn't say it out loud thinking she would think he was stupid or something. As they walked through the strange, large village, he noticed people talking to themselves and holding their ear. "Weird," he thought.  
  
"We're going to my house, it's across the city, so we'll take a bus."  
  
"Huh?" Link thought, but followed her into the large blue thing.  
  
"Let's sit in the back," Katherine said. "We can talk while we're waiting." They walked to the back and sat down. "So how did you get to be lying on the beach?"  
  
"Well, um, I.hmm. I was in the temple of time, and then I fell into the sea and that's all I remember."  
  
"Wait a minute. What 'temple of time'?"  
  
"Um, the temple of time!"  
  
"But the temple of time was destroyed a long time ago!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"There was a great war a long time ago, and the temple was destroyed in it. Unless you're talking about some other temple of time."  
  
"I'm talking about the one in the Hyrule castle."  
  
"But that's the one I'm talking about. How could you have just come from there?"  
  
"I don't know! You must be talking about some other temple!"  
  
"But I'm not! My grandmother told me stories about how when Link, the legendary hero, left Hyrule, it fell into ruin and the temple was destroyed."  
  
"Wait, wait, wait. I'm Link. I just went into the temple of time and suddenly I'm here."  
  
"You're.Link? But how.? My grandmother said the temple had strange powers, maybe you were sent into the future.but why?" Suddenly the bus jerked to a stop. The windows were covered in ice. "But it's a beautiful day! Where did the ice come from?" Katherine exclaimed. There was an evil laugh.  
  
"It is me, the king of ice and snow, Glacio! With the power of Farore I will rule, and this island will be the first to go! Mwa ha ha ha ha!"  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Link thought. The power of Farore? But Farore was the oracle of secrets! How would that help Glacio take over the world?  
  
"Come on," Cat said, and they pushed their way to the front of the bus. The doors were frozen shut. "Oh, great," she sighed, "well, let's try the emergency exit, it opens in." They pulled on it with all their might and it finally opened, sending shattered ice everywhere. A freezing wind blew in.  
  
Link thought. If Glacio had powers strong enough to freeze an island, and he still wanted Farore's powers, what kind of powers did she have? Whatever they were, he hoped this Glacio wouldn't get them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ha ha ha! The whole island is frozen!" Glacio walked over to Farore. "Let's see what powers you are hiding." Farore's sweat drops froze when he turned toward her.  
  
"No! You'll never get away with this! Link will save me!" She yelled.  
  
"Ah, so you've called Link to come rescue you, hmm? Well I assure you, he will not defeat me. Even if he does get past the guards, he still does not have the powers to enter the castle, only you and I do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go get those eight essences before Link does. After all, if he doesn't get the essences, I won't have to deal with him at all, because he won't be able to get in!"  
  
"No!" Farore struggled to get free.  
  
"Oh, shut up, will you?" He extracted her powers and she fell limp. "Now, about those essences." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Link, who was that, back there, when the bus froze?"  
  
"I don't know. I've never heard of him before. But it sounds like he has Farore's power. Maybe he captured her."  
  
"But why would he want Farore? I thought she was just the oracle of secrets, and nothing more!"  
  
"Maybe she IS something more." Suddenly there was a flash of blue light, and a figure shot down near them. "Nayru?!" Link ran to her.  
  
"I have come from the past, because I felt something evil, and I was worried," she said.  
  
"Nayru, have you ever heard of someone called Glacio?"  
  
"Is he the one behind this?" Nayru said, glancing around. "Oh, Glacio, what have you done?"  
  
"You know of him?" Link asked.  
  
"He is the king of the freezards. His castle is sealed with a door that can only be opened with the power of the eight secret essences in this land."  
  
"Where can I find the essences?"  
  
"They are all over, but I think I can help you find them. I hear an essence echoing under the sea, but how will you get through the ice? It must be extremely thick if even the sea is covered in it. There may be a way through the tunnels under the island."  
  
"But I have no weapons," Link said.  
  
"Then take this," Nayru said, and handed him his old sword. "I found it on the ground in the temple of time." Link took it and looked at it. It was his, all right. "Now go, before Glacio does anything worse."  
  
"Wait," Link said, "how can I get into the secret tunnels?"  
  
"You can reach the tunnels through my house," said Katherine. "Follow me."  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Link and Nayru followed Katherine into her house. She moved the bed aside and pulled up a tile. "Here you go," she said, "If you follow the tunnel it will take you to the sea. I hope the water down there isn't frozen."  
  
"Thanks," said Link, and slipped into the hole.  
  
"I will stay here, so if you need my help, come back to ask me anything," said Nayru. Katherine handed a flashlight to Link.  
  
"You just push this button to turn it on and off," she said. Link disappeared into the shadows. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link crept through the tunnel, listening for any strange sounds. There was only the sound of dripping water. It was extremely dark without the flashlight. After playing with the strange object for a while, he left it on and looked ahead. Finally he came to some water. Luckily it wasn't frozen, so he waded in. Soon the water reached the ceiling.  
  
He dove under and swam until he saw light above. There was a cave, and he saw something glowing through an opening. Luckily the soft glow was enough to light the whole room, because the flashlight had gone out underwater. As he got out of the water, he noticed a chest over by one wall, so he opened it. Inside he found a bag full of strange rectangular objects, with buttons and glowing numbers on it.  
  
He thought, but he couldn't figure out what it was for. Maybe he should ask Nayru or Katherine. As he turned around, he heard a sound and the opening that had had light shining through was gone. The water hole was gone too. Where had it gone?  
  
Link looked around. "Oh, great," he thought. Then there was another noise, a strange one. Out of the shadows appeared a large red bat-like creature. "Vire!" Link exclaimed.  
  
"Yes, it is I, Veran's and Onox's loyal minion. I decided to join up with Glacio after you defeated them both. This time you will not defeat me so easily!" Vire flew back into the shadows when Link swung his sword at him.  
  
Link looked at one of the strange things in the bag and tried pressing a few buttons. The numbers started counting down. "What the - " He threw it before it reached zero. What would it do?  
  
Suddenly there was an explosion. The strange rectangle was gone, and there was a black circle on the ground where it had been. "A bomb?!" he thought. He looked around for Vire.  
  
Suddenly Vire flew by, spewing fireballs at Link. He dodged them and thought, "I should probably try one of these bombs." The next time Vire flew by, he was hit with a bomb.  
  
"Ouch!" he said. "You're gonna pay for that!" He disappeared again and Link got another bomb ready. Suddenly he was lifted off the ground! Vire had grabbed his shirt and was carrying him up to the ceiling.  
  
"Now you'll feel the true meaning of pain!" Vire exclaimed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katherine gasped and fanned herself with a paper. "Man, it's hot!" she exclaimed. Suddenly she stopped. How could it be so hot? The whole island was covered in ice! She looked out the window.  
  
She gasped and ran over to Nayru. "Come on, we've got to get upstairs!"  
  
Nayru looked out the window. Water was roaring down the mountain, and the water in city was already about three feet deep. She quickly shut the windows and latched them, and made sure the door was locked too. They scurried upstairs and closed the door behind them.  
  
"Oh no!" Katherine said. "What will happen to Link? Certainly the water will flood the tunnels!"  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Link heard a rumbling sound, echoing through the cave. "What in the world?" he thought. Suddenly, just as Vire let go, water exploded through the wall and flooded the whole cave. Link splashed into the water.  
  
"Errgh," Vire said, "I'm outta here, but don't think you're free of me yet!" He vanished into the shadows. Link choked and struggled to stay above the angry water. "The essence!" he thought, and looked down into the water.  
  
The door with light coming out had opened again, and Link dove down there. He grabbed the glowing crystal and suddenly he was warped back into Katherine's house.  
  
"Link! You're all right! And you've got the first essence!" Nayru exclaimed. "I believe this is Glacio's doing. He must have found Farore's powers and he used one, now the island is flooded!" They looked out the window at the flooded city.  
  
"Link, I sense an essence in the jungle north of here. I am afraid Glacio will try to get the essences before you do, and then you will not be able to rescue Farore and Glacio will rule the world! It will fall into ruin if you do not hurry! Please, find the rest before Glacio does!"  
  
Link nodded. All right, I will try to hurry." He quickly jumped down the stairs into the water and waded out the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Max waded through the city. He had to find Farore. He had protected her from this kind of thing, but today she had insisted on going to the beach alone, and now she was gone! Where was she?  
  
Suddenly he saw someone come out of a house nearby. The person walked toward him and asked which way north was. "Well, it's in that direction," Max pointed as he talked, "but I wouldn't go that way if I were you. The jungle is full of beasts."  
  
"Thank you," the guy answered, and walked past him.  
  
"Hey! Where are you going? I told y - " Suddenly Max saw the hilt of a sword - the legendary master sword. His mouth dropped open in mid-sentence.  
  
"You told me what? That I can't handle a few beasts?" The man continued on.  
  
"Wait!" Max ran after him. "Who are you? How did you get that?" He pointed to the sword.  
  
"I am Link, and I have the sword because it is mine."  
  
"Wait, you can't be the Link I'm thinking of.he disappeared a long time ago!"  
  
"And I came into the future," Link replied, "because I have to stop Glacio."  
  
"Who's Glacio?"  
  
"He is the Freezard king, and he captured Farore and will destroy the world if you don't let me hurry." Link started toward the jungle.  
  
"Wait!" Max grabbed his arm. "Did you say Farore is captured?"  
  
"Yes." Link twisted away.  
  
"Where does this 'Glacio' live?"  
  
Link shrugged. "I don't know."  
  
"Then why are you going into the jungle?"  
  
"Because I need something in there," Link replied, and finally managed to get free and dashed into the jungle. Max stared after him. Farore was captured? He had to find the castle, if he didn't, who knows what would happen to Farore.  
  
"I've got to get there before Link does," he thought, "I've got to be the one to rescue her." He looked up toward the mountains in the west and saw a black and shadowy mountain, it looked promising. He set off toward the mountain.  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Link sliced his way through the jungle. "Man, that guy was annoying," he thought. There was a clearing ahead, with light shining on a sword stuck in a rock in the middle. He slowly stepped toward it, looking out for any traps.  
  
There didn't seem to be anything strange, so he grabbed the sword hilt and pulled. There was an explosion and the sword dissolved, leaving a chest in the place of the rock. "What the - "  
  
He opened the chest. Out came an interesting looking bow along with arrows. It was plain wood with carved swirls on it. "Cool," he thought. Suddenly there was a rumbling and a huge tree groaned and creaked. Link gasped as it started to move. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Max grabbed another notch in the rock and pulled himself up. Suddenly the rocks crumbled and he fell. Just before he was crushed by rocks, he rolled to the right and tumbled down into a dark cave. The light disappeared. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Wow, it's getting hotter and hotter," said Katherine. She looked out the window. "The water's already getting lower, I think." She slumped back into a comfy chair. "So are you two really from the past?"  
  
"Yes," replied Nayru, "so is Farore. She asked me if she could go into the future, so I let her, and now she's been captured."  
  
"I wonder how Glacio can stand this awful heat, I mean he sounds like some cold guy."  
  
"Yes, he is made of ice, I do not know how he can bear it."  
  
"His castle is probably like a freezer inside."  
  
"I would think so." Nayru looked out the window. She gasped. All the water had dried up already. Suddenly a house nearby burst into flame. "Oh, no! It's so hot there are fires! But Link.Link is in the jungle!!! If it doesn't get any cooler, the trees will surely burn, and if he doesn't get out fast enough."  
  
She dashed out the door. "Wait, where are you going?" Katherine called. But Nayru was already outside, hurrying north. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Glacio chuckled. "Just as planned.Nayru is going to try to save Link from the jungle." He turned from the blue flame and looked toward Farore.  
  
"Once I get her, I can use her powers to go back to Din's time and capture her as well. Once I get her, I will have the power of the three oracles! Then no matter what Link does, he will not be able to stop me!" A crystallized teardrop fell from Farore's eye and shattered on the ground.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
The gigantic tree slowly moved toward Link. He got out an arrow and shot at it, but it just bounced off. "The bombs!" he thought, but suddenly the tree picked him up and the bomb bag fell to the ground. Suddenly the trees around the clearing burst into flame and the tree dropped Link.  
  
"Surely that tree will burn, too." Link thought, but the tree didn't burn and it stayed away from the edge of the clearing. "It must be vulnerable to fire if it stays that far away from it, but the heat itself isn't enough to burn it." He got an idea, and ran toward the fire. Out came an arrow and he touched the tip to the flames.  
  
"Hurry up, hurry up," he thought, wincing at the intense heat. It caught fire and he quickly shot it at the tree. It screeched and burst into flame, falling to the ground and disintegrating. "Whew," Link thought, "now how will I get out of here?" He saw a glowing thing on the ground where the tree had died.  
  
"What's that?" he walked over to it. It looked like the sun, but it wasn't burning. He picked it up. "This must be the next essence!" Suddenly a figure burst through the trees and ran towards Link. It was Nayru! "Nayru, what are you doing?"  
  
"The jungle is ablaze! You will not be able to get out without going through time to get around it."  
  
"Ha ha ha! You fell right into my trap, Nayru, oracle of ages!"  
  
"Who was that?" Nayru gasped.  
  
"It is I, Glacio! I will be the world's nightmare once I capture you and Din!"  
  
"Link, quickly! Take this!" Nayru thrust the harp of ages into Link's arms. "Warn Din of this before Glacio finds her! You must take her here and hide her from him!" Suddenly she was entrapped in a blue crystal and floated away.  
  
Link stared up at the sky where she disappeared. Suddenly a flaming tree fell behind him. He broke out of his trance and quickly played the song of time. The fires, trees and sky vanished as he dropped into darkness on a blue shimmering platform. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Max continued to tumble down into the cave, and luckily grabbed a rock just before he rolled off a ledge. "Wow," he thought.  
  
Through the opening was a huge cave, the only interesting thing about it was the ice. The cave was full of it. Max stepped down onto the ice and slid across the floor. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Din waded through the tall grass, collecting flowers here and there. "Oh wow," she said, bending down to pick a beautiful flower. "There's a whole bunch of them right here!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link landed in a large field full of flowers. Din was nowhere in sight. There was a village over to the right, he would try that. He started making his way through the tall grass. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Din smelled the flowers and stood up again. She looked at her list. There were more flowers to find, so she continued through the field. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Glacio laughed. "Ha! Link has passed her! I shall go retrieve my last prize now! Be good while I'm gone, okay? Ha, ha, ha!" Farore nodded toward Nayru. Nayru suddenly vanished from her crystal. "What? Where'd she go?"  
  
Suddenly he remembered. He had not drained Nayru of her powers yet! Now she had gone through time! He stared at the blue flame, and saw a flash of light. Nayru had gone back in time to warn Din since Link had passed her!  
  
"No!" He yelled so loud icicles fell from the ceiling and shattered around him. He had to do something.suddenly there was a voice behind him.  
  
"Farore! I found you!"  
  
"What the - " Glacio turned around to see a short man with black spiked hair, glasses and a moustache. "How did you get in here?"  
  
"I have my ways. Now let Farore go!" Farore looked through the crystal. It was Max, her bodyguard!  
  
She tried to yell but the sound was muffled in the crystallized glass. All she could do was watch as Max pulled out his sword.  
  
"Mwa ha ha! You think that'll hurt me?" Glacio laughed.  
  
"You're right," said Max, "take this!" It was time to use the magic he had learned from Farore. He spread his arms open wide and prepared to blow Glacio away, literally. Suddenly he found himself flying through the air against the wall. The ice wall shattered and he fell outside.  
  
"No!" Farore thought. Her only hope was Link now. If they were captured it would all be lost. But if Nayru was successful in warning Din and they managed to keep out of Glacio's sight, then maybe Link had a chance of saving them all.  
  
But.where was Link? How would he save them if he didn't know where Din was and just kept wasting time searching for her instead of searching for the essences?  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Nayru hurried through the field. "Din!" she called. A head popped out of the grass nearby.  
  
"Nayru? What are you doing here?"  
  
"I came to tell you Glacio wants to capture you and I in the future, so we must stay here. Without my powers he shouldn't be able to get to us."  
  
"Glacio wants to capture us? What, has he turned evil now? Well, he always seemed creepy, but not evil enough to do that.well, what about Farore? Does he know about her powers?"  
  
Nayru looked down. "She has been captured."  
  
"Oh, no!"  
  
"Hurry, Link came here too, looking for you, but he passed you when you were bending over. I think he went toward the village. If we can find him, we can tell him you're all right and he can get back to the future. But we must hurry."  
  
Din dropped her flowers and they ran towards the village. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ouch," Max groaned as he lay on the rocks outside. "That hurt. A lot." Suddenly there was a flash of blue and he saw Link again. "Oh, great." he thought.  
  
"You again!" Link groaned. "Look, I've got to get going."  
  
"I wasn't going to talk to you." Suddenly there was a booming voice coming from the hole in the cliff that Max had been thrown out of.  
  
"Ha! You feel the pain now, don't you! You should never have messed with me!"  
  
Link's eyes bulged. "Don't tell me that was Glacio!"  
  
"It was." replied Max.  
  
"But who was he talking to?"  
  
Max sighed. "Me."  
  
"You got in there and fought him? But how?"  
  
"I have my ways."  
  
"No, TELL ME NOW!" Link shook Max until his head started hurting even more. "Is that even possible?" Max thought.  
  
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you! I found a secret tunnel into the castle."  
  
"Where is it?"  
  
"It's.somewhere, I don't know, it's on the east side of the mountain."  
  
"Thanks." Link scurried away.  
  
Max sighed. Great, now Link would be the hero and he would just stay here and die. No, he couldn't let that happen. He tried getting up. OW! Then again, he COULD let that happen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I couldn't find him," Nayru told Din.  
  
"Neither could I," Din replied.  
  
"Look, you stay here and keep looking for him. I will go into the future to see if he went back already. If you find him, tell him to go into the future, but please stay here, okay?"  
  
"Got it."  
  
"Then fare well, and good luck finding him." Nayru vanished.  
  
"Okay, now if I was Link, where would I think a person like me would be?" Din thought. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Suddenly there was another blue flash, and this time a tall blue haired lady in strange clothing appeared. "Max! What are you doing out here! Did you see Link go by?"  
  
"Um, well, yes.how do you know my name?"  
  
"Which way did he go?"  
  
"You haven't answered me yet."  
  
"I know Farore. She told me about you. Now, answer my question."  
  
"He's somewhere on the east side of the mountain looking for the secret tunnel to Glacio's castle."  
  
"There's a secret way into Glacio's castle?"  
  
"Yeah, although it may be a little hard to find, since it's covered in rocks."  
  
"And Link is going to try to defeat Glacio without all the essences, all by himself with such few weapons?!"  
  
"Um.I guess."  
  
"I have to stop him!"  
  
"Now we all know THAT wouldn't be a very good idea."  
  
Nayru turned around. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I overheard Glacio wants the power of all three oracles. If you go after Link, Glacio is sure to get you."  
  
"I have no choice. If Link gets captured, it will all be over."  
  
"Same thing if you and Din get captured."  
  
Nayru stopped. He was right. If he captured her again, she might not be able to escape so easily, and then Glacio could go back in time and capture Din. But.if he captured Link, there would be no one who could defeat Glacio. "Oh, dear," she said.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Link shoved another rock away. This was it, all right. There was cold air flowing out. He squeezed through the rocks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katherine stared out the window at the jungle. It was horrible, the town was collapsing and the jungle was in flames. Even though it had started raining, the fires continued. Suddenly her eyes stung, and she blinked several times. Smoke was rising from below the window!  
  
Soon orange flames licked at the windowsill. "Oh, no!" She quickly ran towards the door to the stairs, but she stopped. Smoke was creeping in from underneath the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nayru hurried along the rocks. She had to stop Link. He couldn't face Glacio with so few weapons and only two essences! Without all the essences, he would be powerless against him! Suddenly she stopped. There was a pile of rocks below, with frosty mist flowing out.  
  
That must be it. She got down there and looked through the hole. There were footprints in the dirt in there. "Don't be so worried," she told herself, "they might be someone else's." But she highly doubted that. Into the tunnel she went. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katherine stuffed wet towels in front of the door. She frantically looked about the room. She would have to get out of here. The chest over in the corner caught her eye. That would have to be saved.  
  
She grabbed the chest and went to a clear window. Down below were thick bushes. The bed sheets were transformed into a rope, and soon it was dangling out the window. Katherine dropped the chest into the bushes.  
  
As soon as she climbed down, grabbed the chest and got out of the bushes, the bushes exploded in flame. She protected her eyes from the intense heat. Now where could she go? Certainly she would get out of the city, there was no telling what would happen if this heat continued. The beach sounded safe enough. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link continued into the cave. "Brr, it's getting even colder." Just as he stepped out into the cavern, he heard a voice behind him. "Huh?"  
  
"Link! Stop!"  
  
"Who is it?" Link whispered into the tunnel.  
  
"It's me, Nayru! You can't fight Glacio like this!"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Only a hero who understands the power of the essences has the power to defeat Glacio! You must get the other essences before fighting him or you will be utterly defeated! Please listen to me!"  
  
"But by then it will be too late! I can't find six essences that fast!"  
  
"Use the harp of ages to travel back a few days! However, if Glacio receives my powers before you have time to play the song of time, you will lose the harp's powers! I sense an essence on a mountain nearby! Use the harp to go back a few days while you can, and then collect the essences before your time runs out!"  
  
Suddenly Nayru was encased in a blue crystal. "Link, play the song of time quickly!!"  
  
Link pulled out the harp and played the song. He watched as Nayru disappeared into the ice cave and suddenly he fell into blackness.  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Link scurried down the mountain trying not to fall over. There were no more fires or anything, it just seemed like a normal day. He noticed a tower on top of one of the mountains. Maybe that was where the next essence was. He hurried toward it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Max tapped the A button rapidly. "No, get off!"  
  
"Max, come on, lunch is finished." Cat called from downstairs.  
  
"Oh, all right," Max called down. He paused the game and slid down the stair rail.  
  
"Max, I want you to stop that. You'll break those things someday."  
  
"Fine.where are we going?" Max asked.  
  
"We're going to have a picnic the garden at the mountain range base." Farore came into the kitchen.  
  
"So are we finally going now?" she asked. Cat nodded and they strolled outside. Max pretended to follow and then slinked back inside and started playing video games again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link stopped. The entrance to the tower was a face with evil eyes and an open mouth with sharp teeth. He stepped inside. Keese everywhere! Soon he had killed them all, or at least all he could see. A chest fell from the ceiling.  
  
Link opened it. Inside he found a cylinder with a button and a hole on one end. "Hey, I remember this from the Island of Dreams! This is a laser!" He looked around the room. There was a ladder hanging in front of a door he couldn't reach.  
  
The only thing keeping the ladder up was a rope. "Ah ha," Link said, and shot the laser at the rope. Soon it broke and the ladder fell. Link ran over to it and climbed up to the door.  
  
Through it he found a staircase. Up he went, and soon he came to another door. On the other side was another ladder. Up the ladder was the top of the tower. "Nice view," Link said, but suddenly he noticed several holes in the floor with hissing sounds coming out.  
  
A mass of black snakes wriggled out of those holes, joining together in the center to form an enormous creature, constantly changing shape to suit its need. A huge head appeared in the center of it all and opened its mouth wide. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Where'd Max go?" Farore looked around. "Oh well. He's probably playing video games. He's obsessed with those things." They soon came to the garden and chose a nice spot on a bench under a tree.  
  
"He must have a lot of video games, huh?" Cat asked.  
  
"Well, actually, none. He still paying for his car, but he can't wait until he finishes the payments and gets to buy some video games. He really enjoys coming over to your house to play yours."  
  
"I wondered why he gets so excited about that," Katherine said, taking food out of the basket. Suddenly there was a horrible screeching sound from the mountains. "What the - " Katherine dropped a sandwich and stared up at the mountains.  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Link stared with wide eyes at the huge snake head in the middle of the other snakes as it screeched horribly loudly. "Ouch," he thought, covering his ears. Suddenly a snaky arm reached out and wrapped around him.  
  
"Oh, great." Link quickly pulled out the laser. He tried shooting it into the gaping mouth, but it did nothing. He came closer to the head. As Link's shadow moved in front of the eyes, they seemed to get smaller and relaxed. The shadow moved away and the eyes squinted painfully in the sunlight as they looked up at Link dangling above them.  
  
"Its eyes! They must be sensitive to light!" Link thought, and pressed the button on the laser again. There was a sizzling sound as one of the eyes melted. The beast roared and shook Link around until he fell to the ground.  
  
He got back up and fired another laser into the other eye. It melted, and the beast roared even more. Suddenly the center of the tower collapsed, sending the beast to the bottom. "Whew," Link said. A glowing rock floated up from the hole into Link's hands. "The third essence! Now I just need five more."  
  
Suddenly the tower started shaking. Link peered into the hole. The creature was not dead yet! It was making a last effort to kill him! It was trying to bring down the tower!  
  
"The harp!" Link thought. But when he played the song of time, nothing happened. "Oh, great," Link thought. "Glacio must have gotten Nayru's powers in the future, and now I can't use the harp any more! But what.how could that be? Farore hasn't even been captured yet!"  
  
"I believe you are incorrect," came a cold voice from behind him, "for just as you played the song, I drained Nayru of her powers. Now I can control time, and I already captured all three oracles in the future!" Link spun around to find Glacio standing behind him.  
  
"Look, see what this island has become in the future!" Glacio spread his arms and a blue flame appeared, showing a horrible wasteland with a dark tower in the center.  
  
"No!" Link yelled.  
  
"Actually, yes!" Glacio replied. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" He disappeared into thin air.  
  
Suddenly the tower started shaking again, and Link was aware of the dire situation. The tower he was standing on was crumbling, and Din, Nayru and Farore were captured in the future! But wait.if that was in the future, then maybe Link could stop it if he found the essences and defeated Glacio before then!  
  
But.Glacio had the power to travel back in time.so Glacio could travel back and Link would never be able to defeat the power of all three oracles!  
  
He slumped to the ground. It was no use. The tower started shaking again. He didn't care. There was no way down anyway. He wouldn't be able to defeat Glacio anyway. Nothing he could do would matter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katherine plopped the chest down on the sand next to her and sighed. The city was still on fire. She imagined what it looked like just a few days ago, when she had gone on a picnic with Farore. Oh, Farore.  
  
And then just this morning it was just like it usually was, before Link came and then everything went haywire. She sat on the chest. She should have given it to Link. He needed it more than she did. After all, if he didn't get it then he wouldn't be able to save Farore or the others.  
  
She started crying. Why had she been so stupid as to not give it to him when she had the chance? She looked up. What was in this chest had to go to Link, even if she had to go out there and find him herself.  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Farore climbed higher up the rocks. She was curious of what made that noise. Finally she made it to the top and came to the foot of the tower. She gasped.  
  
A wall of black snakes was blocking the entrance. The tower started swaying back and forth. "Oh, dear," she thought. Rocks fell from the top.  
  
Farore ducked and quickly used her powers to tilt the tower slowly to the ground. If she left this standing, it could fall over and roll all the way to the garden. As she was tilting it, somebody slid off the top.  
  
"What the - " She quickly caught the person. "Who would be way up here?" she thought. Suddenly a sword fell from the top and got stuck in the ground right next to her. "Is that - the - the master sword?!"  
  
It was! Suddenly the person she had accidentally dropped after seeing the sword moved. "Oops," she said, bending down to look at him. His eyes opened.  
  
"Farore? But - you - you were captured."  
  
"What??" Farore squinted.  
  
Suddenly he stopped. "Look, in a little while you." He stopped again.  
  
"What is this guy thinking?!" Farore thought. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link thought and thought. This was getting confusing. Glacio captured Farore in the future. If he warned her now, would that do any good? Glacio had the power to control time, and.everything, at least in the future. But a few days before he hadn't captured the oracles yet. But - if Glacio could control time, wouldn't he have made it so Link wouldn't be able to warn Farore in the past?  
  
Link shook his head. It was all too hard to think about. Maybe Glacio forgot about that. Then in that case, Link could warn Farore to hide.then would that change the horrible future? It was his only chance.  
  
"Farore, you have to hide."  
  
"Huh? From what?" Farore looked like she didn't understand anything at all.  
  
"Well duh," Link thought, "this is before any of what I'm talking about even happened. How could she possibly know what I'm talking about?"  
  
"Hello? Why are you acting so weird? Tell me what you're trying to say!"  
  
"Well, in a few days you'll get captured by somebody called Glacio if you don't hide from him."  
  
"And how do you know this?"  
  
"Um." How would he get her to believe him? "I came from a few days into the future." He showed her the harp of ages.  
  
"Is that.the harp of ages?" Farore asked. She grabbed it and played a song. Nothing happened. "It's fake," she said, handing it back to Link.  
  
"No, it's the real thing! But in the future, Glacio captured all you oracles and now the harp is useless!"  
  
"You aren't making sense," Farore replied, "I don't believe you." As she was walking away, she was surrounded in greenish light and was encased in a crystal.  
  
"Sorry I forgot to get this," came a menacing voice, "I was a bit busy destroying the world in the future. Mwa ha ha ha ha!"  
  
Link slapped his forehead. His last hope had disappeared along with Farore.  
  
Chapter 12  
  
Katherine stumbled through the remains of the city. If only Farore hadn't gone off into the mountains that day they had the picnic. She knew something bad would happen. Now the island was a barren, rocky and dry land with a horrible red sky. The sea was red as well, reflecting the color from the sky and the fires.  
  
Oh, the fires. They were everywhere. It was difficult enough to get around without a two million pound chest, but with one.Katherine flopped on the ground to rest. What was she doing with a chest anyway? What was inside? How in the world did it even open?  
  
She had forgotten completely. She might as well just leave it there, it was doing her no good dragging it across the island. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link sat on a rock. It was impossible to get five essences that fast! And it would all be for nothing anyway! Wait.suddenly the gears in his head started spinning so fast it hurt. He had gotten the eight essences of time and nature in Labrynna and Holodrum! If he got the other essences then he would have the power of all three oracles, and he would be able to fight Glacio!  
  
He jumped up with renewed strength and almost tumbled down the mountain. He felt something echoing from the cemetery next to the city. Now all he had to do was collect the last five essences. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katherine watched as a tall man ran by, almost tripping over the picnic basket. "Hey, watch where you're going!"  
  
"Katherine!" The man stopped and walked toward her.  
  
Katherine squinted. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"  
  
The man seemed annoyed with this. "It's me, Link!"  
  
"Link! Yeah, sure! Who are you, really?"  
  
"I just told you! Remember, we met just this morn - " He stopped.  
  
"Um, we've never met." Cat said to break the silence.  
  
"I.know that, but we did.um, in the future."  
  
"You know, you aren't making sense." Cat said.  
  
"I know I might not be making any sense to you, but here's the deal: in a few days we met already, and Farore was captured by someone called Glacio, and I'm trying to rescue her and save the world. I went back in time a few days so I could have more time. There, that make sense?"  
  
"Um, it makes a bit of sense, but I still don't believe you." Cat picked up her basket. "By the way, did you see Farore up there? She left because she heard this weird sound, and she hasn't come back."  
  
The man claiming to be Link sighed. "That's because she was captured."  
  
"Yeah, right. I'm going up there to find out myself." She started to walk towards the mountain. The man stopped her.  
  
"You won't find anything but rocks and snakes."  
  
"Okay, fine, let's just pretend I believe you. How do you plan on saving Farore?"  
  
"I'm searching for eight special things hidden throughout the island." The man started getting impatient.  
  
"Well then I'll help you look. I've got nothing else to do, and besides, I think I'm starting to believe you. After all, not everyone has one of those," she said, looking at the master sword's hilt.  
  
"Good, now let's go," Link said, "we've got to get to the cemetery on the edge of the city."  
  
Katherine had a thought, but it disappeared and they set off toward the city.  
  
Chapter 13  
  
Katherine suddenly stopped. The chest! She had to give it to Link! Where had she left it? But wait, it was too late.Glacio had already destroyed Link.it was useless. She could almost kill herself.  
  
If she had just simply given the chest to Link, the whole world could have been saved from this doom. But.it was too late. She couldn't change that now. It was all her fault. She started to cry again. It wouldn't be much longer now. She looked up. The sun continued to get smaller. She could've stopped all this from happening. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Glacio looked out at the sun. It was still shrinking from view.perfect. The earth was hurdling into outer space.soon all sunlight would be gone, and those puny creatures would freeze to death in the cold. "It is all going as planned, my friends." He turned to the three glowing crystals.  
  
"The earth will freeze over in time, making my dream world come true. I have you to thank." He laughed violently. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link hopped over the fence and looked around the headstones for something. There was a large one in the back. He would try that first. "Come on," he told Katherine. They walked over to the headstone; there was a pattern of swirls on it.  
  
It seemed to be broken, the swirl had a section that was not raised like the rest. He looked at the ground. There was a curved piece of stone lying there. Onto the headstone it went, right into the gap. It fit perfectly.  
  
It got dark, and light shot from the headstone. Suddenly it exploded, revealing a hole in the ground.  
  
"Whoa," Cat said.  
  
"No big deal, I see stuff like that all the time." Link jumped into the hole. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cat just stood there. "Um, Link?" she said, peeking into the black hole. He seemed to know what he was doing, but.that, what she just saw him do, was kind of weird. Someone just jumping readily into a black hole they found beneath an exploding headstone - that was just strange.  
  
She would have to just wait for him to come back, if he even did. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link opened the chest he had found. Inside was the mirror shield! Suddenly the chest disappeared and he saw two glowing yellow eyes in the darkness. "Wow," Link thought, as a huge blacker-than-black caped creature started creating a huge light orb.  
  
Link quickly held the shield up. The orb was shot at him. It bounced off and hit the creature right in the middle. The thing squealed and moved to a different part of the room. This time it shot a bunch of rotating orbs at Link. He knew from experience what that meant. As he dodged it, it exploded on the wall behind him and the orbs shot everywhere.  
  
The next one was the right kind, and Link bounced it back. It hit the creature, making it stop, start spinning, slowly getting faster and faster, and Link quickly threw his sword at it. There was a bright flash of light and then a glowing leaf fluttered to the ground.  
  
Link picked it up. It was the fourth essence! Now he only needed four more. Suddenly there was a sound behind him. He spun around and gasped. Vines and roots were growing like crazy coming in through the hole.  
  
Chapter 14  
  
Katherine woke up. Wow, it was dark.she got up. She looked around and gasped. Growing out of the hole was a column of plants. She looked up. The tower seemed to just disappear into the night sky. How would Link get out? Suddenly light shone from the hole and the plants disappeared.  
  
Link jumped out and said, "Were you really worried about me?" He held a glowing leaf.  
  
"That looks like." Katherine thought. "Link, what is that?"  
  
"It's an essence."  
  
Katherine thought. That leaf resembled that thing her mother gave her a long time ago.the thing she kept in a chest, locked away in her room. Maybe Link needed that. Or maybe he just found that leaf in the hole by accident and thought it looked cool so he took it. She shrugged. Well, she would keep her chest, and its contents. After all, it was hers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If only Cat could go back in time.she had been so stupid not to realize that Link had needed that.he had just gone to fight Glacio with only seven essences because he couldn't find the last one. The one she had kept for herself. The one in the chest beneath her.  
  
It's time to find out what that thing can do, she told herself. She opened the chest and gasped. It was empty. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link walked along, Katherine following closely behind. He sensed another essence on the other side of the mountain range somewhere. "Cat, do you know what's on the other side of those mountains?"  
  
"I think there's a desert," she replied. "We should try to get there before sunup. I'd rather be freezing than burning in the sun." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katherine couldn't move. It was too cold. She'd rather be in flames than like this. Suddenly a shadow covered her. "Katherine!" It was Max, and he was shaking from the cold.  
  
"Max, where were you all this time?"  
  
"I was trying to get down here," he replied, showing off his bruises and cuts.  
  
"How did you get those?!" Cat gasped and looked at them.  
  
"Well, err, I fell off a ledge in the mountain accidentally," he said.  
  
"What were you doing in the mountains?"  
  
"I was, um, exploring?"  
  
"I can tell you're trying to hide something," Cat said.  
  
"Okay, I give up. I went into the mountains to fight Glacio, and that's also how I got the bruises and stuff."  
  
"You tried fighting Glacio?!"  
  
"I actually did twice. The first time was a while ago, and then I tried again after I heard Link had been killed."  
  
"How come you're not dead?"  
  
"I ran away," Max said, "you would if you saw him. I couldn't do anything to even scratch him. It looked like Link couldn't either, because Glacio looked just like new."  
  
Katherine thought. If she had given the essence to Link before, maybe he would have been able to scratch him, or do even more damage. But where was the essence, and when had it been stolen, and by whom?  
  
Chapter 15  
  
Link and Cat finally stepped onto the cool sand of the desert. The sun had luckily not risen yet, but the horizon was getting lighter. As they walked, Katherine asked, "Link, how do you know we're going the right way?"  
  
"I don't know," Link replied, "I just feel something.the more essences I get, the stronger that feeling is."  
  
"So the essences are making you stronger?"  
  
"Maybe," Link answered. "Well what do you know? Look at that!" As they came to the top of the dune, they saw a big square stone with a hole in it. Link looked at Katherine. "Stay here," he said, and crouched into the hole.  
  
Katherine sighed and waited, watching the sky brighten. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Max saved the game and looked at the clock. It was already 5:38 AM and Cat and Farore hadn't come back yet. He looked out the window toward the mountains.  
  
Maybe they were mad at him for not coming. Max laughed. If they had wanted him to come, they would've made sure of it. But the question was where were they now? Why didn't they come home?  
  
Well, he would go look for them. The house was empty, so he went outside and headed for the garden by the mountains. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link crawled through the dark tunnel. It was cold and damp in there. He couldn't see a thing. Finally the tunnel got big enough to stand in. there were torches along the wall, and one spot had more light than the rest of the room.  
  
There was a chest in that spot, so Link walked over to it. Inside he found golden gauntlets. "Cool," he thought, putting them on. He could feel the blood coursing through his veins. Looking around, he saw a huge statue against the wall.  
  
"Looks promising," he thought, walking over to it. There was a space between it and the wall, and cold air was flowing out. Link grabbed some ridges on the statue and easily lifted it. As soon as he threw it behind him, he saw there was nothing behind it except the wall.  
  
Just then there was a huge grinding and crashing sound, and Link turned to see he had thrown the statue against a support pillar, which was now crumbling. Sand poured in from the ceiling. The room quickly started filling. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katherine sat on top of the stone looking at the rising sun. She hoped Link would come out soon before it got really hot. Even if he came out now, they had to travel back to the mountains, and the sun would be up by then.  
  
Suddenly she heard a strange sound behind her. She turned around but nothing was there. "Hmm," she thought, and got up. "Link?" she said, walking around. When she stopped she could hear the sound again. She looked down to see her foot was covered in sand.  
  
"What the - " Her leg was sinking into the ground. She tried pulling it out but it still went down. "Link!" she called. What was going on here?  
  
Chapter 16  
  
Link looked around frantically. The tunnel had been covered already, and he couldn't remember where exactly it was. Suddenly he noticed a mound weaving its way through the sand.  
  
He got ready. The lump moved straight toward him from the front. Suddenly a huge snake-like creature with spinning jaws rose from the sand. It lurched at Link, who quickly jumped out of the way, swinging his sword at it. Unfortunately the sword just bounced off and flung out of his hands into the sand.  
  
"Okay, that's it," Link thought. He grabbed the huge tail as it was disappearing into the sand and pulled. The creature hissed as it rose out of the sand again. Link looked at the gauntlets. They started glowing.  
  
He gave a good tug and started to turn. Faster and faster he went, until he had the snake flying through the air. He let go and the snake slammed against a statue, piercing its side.  
  
Link looked at the gauntlets again. "I really like these," he said, chuckling to himself. Suddenly the ground shook. "Oh great," he thought, "I forgot completely about the sand."  
  
The sand got higher and higher. Suddenly from the sand came a glow. The sand started moving toward the middle, getting brighter and brighter. There was a brilliant flash of light, and Link fell to the stones. The sand was gone, and a glowing thing shaped like a wave floated down in front of him.  
  
He grabbed it and suddenly the ground beneath him exploded and water gushed out. Just as he was about to hit the ceiling, it disappeared, and he continued flying upward on the pillar of water. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katherine could hardly breathe any more. The sand covered her mouth and if she breathed in through her nose too quickly and strongly then sand would get in and she would sneeze. Just as she sneezed, she shot out of the sand into the sky, flailing her arms. There was water all around her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Suddenly Max saw a huge wave coming from the other side of the mountain.  
  
"What the - but it's coming from the desert!" But that didn't change the fact that it was splashing over the mountains toward the city. He started running. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link and Katherine splashed to the ground, and the master sword fell into the dirt next to them.  
  
"Wow," Cat said, "what happened?"  
  
"I got another essence," Link said, showing her the glowing wave shaped crystal. Katherine thought. Link probably did need that crystal she had.  
  
"Link, how many more of those do you need?"  
  
"Three," he replied. Cat bit her lip. She would wait and see.  
  
"Cat!" Katherine looked up. It was Max, and it looked like he was out of breath. "And who's he?"  
  
"He's.my boyfriend." Cat winked at Link. She knew Max would never believe them if she told him he was Link.  
  
"And why is there wet sand all over you?"  
  
"We were at the beach."  
  
"Then why are you lying around in the dirt? Come on, I want to show you something."  
  
"Come on.Luke." Katherine motioned for Link to follow.  
  
"No thanks, I've got to go find some of those candles with essences." He sensed an essence nearby, west of town.  
  
Chapter 17  
  
Link stood at the top of the hill looking down at the lake at the foot of the mountains. He felt the essence was over by the waterfall. As he was walking, he heard a strange sound coming from it. It sounded like.chirping.  
  
The waterfall grew nearer as he kept walking. He could see black shapes flying through the waterfall, chirping and flapping their wings. "Bats," he sighed, "probably a sign of a cave behind there." He continued toward the waterfall, covering his head with the mirror shield. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katherine kept walking. She had to try. If she tried, she could die. If she didn't, she would die anyway. At least if she tried to defeat him she might be able to stop this. Lying around was no good.  
  
She looked up at the black castle and looked around for the secret entrance Max had talked about. Link hadn't been able to do it. But so what? It didn't matter to her which way she died, it would happen soon anyway. She found the hole and crept in. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link stared. He had just entered a huge cave or something.the walls, floor and ceiling were made of symmetrical stone blocks, and there were steps up to a chest surrounded by statues with flames in their open mouths.  
  
He slowly walked towards it, glancing at the statues on either side. Inside the chest he found a flute. "What's the use of this?" he thought. Suddenly everything went dark. Farore's face appeared in the darkness.  
  
"The flute you hold is the flute of wind," she said. "You will need it where you are going. I will teach you a tune that will send things flying through the air. Just follow along." She started singing.  
  
Link held the flute to his lips and after she had finished singing he repeated it. The flute glowed green. "Farewell, Link," Farore said as she faded, "you will learn more songs to play later. For now, look behind you."  
  
Farore completely disappeared. There was a sound behind Link. He spun around to see bats flapping rapidly all leaving the cave. "Must be feeding time," he thought.  
  
There was a swooshing sound and the torches flickered out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katherine jumped out of the hole and looked around. Ice was everywhere. She looked up and gasped. Far, far above there was an opening in the ceiling. Three crystals floated halfway up. One was red, one blue, and one green. Inside each was a body.  
  
"I see you've noticed my collection."  
  
Katherine spun around to see a gigantic ice statue walking toward her. She screamed.  
  
Chapter 18  
  
Link glanced around the room. He couldn't see anything. Suddenly there was a voice.  
  
"Remember me? Glacio wants me to get rid of you for good this time, so don't expect me to be as easy!" It was Vire, the evil red bat-like creature, again. "I will destroy you this time!"  
  
"Don't be too sure," Link said, getting out the flute.  
  
"Oh, I'm so scared, he's going to hit me with a flute!" Vire said sarcastically.  
  
"Actually, better." Link played the song again. The flute started glowing again. It started absorbing light, glowing brighter and brighter, and then suddenly a huge spiral of air shot towards Vire, sending him against the wall.  
  
"I think it is I who will destroy YOU," Link said, pulling out his sword. "You've been too much of a nuisance to me. Constantly trying to stop me, reporting me to Glacio, and even back in Labrynna and Holodrum! This time I'm not letting you get away!"  
  
Link dashed toward the fallen Vire and jumped, his sword outstretched. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katherine grabbed an ice chunk and hurled it at Glacio. It just bounced off, shattering on the ground. Glacio laughed hysterically.  
  
"You're trying to hurt me with ice?! If you were smart you would know I'm MADE of ice!"  
  
"I knew that." Katherine said, "I just."  
  
Glacio stepped closer. "You just what? You were just trying to defeat me? With a CHUNK OF ICE? HA HA HA HA HA!! I just might spare your life, I need a bit of entertainment around here." He chuckled as he walked away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link stabbed again and again, his face getting red. He was still swinging after Vire had died. He finally stopped and flopped on the ground, panting. He made a note to himself not to get that mad any more, it made him tired.  
  
Staring up at the ceiling, he saw a flame falling right above him. He quickly rolled as it hit the ground right where he had been. It was just another essence. He grabbed it.  
  
The room went dark again. Farore appeared and said, "You have done well. Your next destination is high in the sky, you will need to learn this song to reach it." She started singing again. Link tried to follow along and played it after her.  
  
The flute glowed again. "Very good. This song will allow you to fly on the wind. You still have one more song to learn, after you have gotten all the essences." She disappeared.  
  
Link stepped outside and looked at the sky. He didn't see anything. Maybe he had to be up there to see it. He looked at the flute. He had no time to lose. The next sound over the lake was the sweet song of the flute of wind. There was a flash and Link found himself actually flying, high above the island.  
  
"Wow," he thought, looking down at the city. Suddenly he remembered and looked around for an essence. He saw a huge white castle over by the mountains. "When did that get there?" he thought. As he came closer he saw - it was not on the ground. It was standing on a cloud far above the mountaintops.  
  
Chapter 19  
  
Glacio chuckled as he climbed the stairs. Ice chunks! Ha! As he came into the room level with the oracles, he lit the blue flame and looked into it.  
  
He saw Link, flying through the air with ease! How was that possible? He landed on a cloud with a huge white castle on it. Glacio looked out the ice window at the sky. What was Link doing there and how was he flying? He kept watching. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katherine sat down in a comfy chair and watched as Max turned on the TV. "Don't tell me, you got past the black guardian."  
  
"How'd you guess?" Max said, sitting down with a controller. "Look, isn't this place weird looking?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess. So you brought me all the way here just to see that?"  
  
"Well.yeah."  
  
Katherine sighed and got up. "I have to go find Luke," she said. "I was helping him look for candles."  
  
"You know, you aren't very good at lying," Max said.  
  
"What?!" Katherine stopped.  
  
"Come on, who would rather look for candles than play video games?"  
  
"Um.well, I never said I wanted to look for candles. I just have to make sure he gets the right scent."  
  
"Fine then, you can go," Max said. Katherine sighed in relief and slipped outside. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link stepped into the castle. Inside it was sparkling and bright, just like outside. He saw a chest in the back and opened it. Inside was a rod.  
  
He tried swinging it, and fire shot out, blasting the wall. Suddenly a door opened. Link spun around. In front of one of the doors was.a small, cute, white furry ball.  
  
"What the - " It opened its mouth and sucked in. Link struggled to stay away from it, because he was being sucked toward it! He used a song on the flute to pull away, and then waited for the thing to open its mouth again.  
  
It finally did again, and Link swung the rod toward it. Fire shot from the rod, scorching the creature. It screeched and ran toward Link, still ablaze. Link dashed away, shooting fire at it again. Soon it became a chase around the room, with fire shooting every which way and the sound of strong inhaling. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Glacio chuckled in amusement as the two ran around and around. "Forget that girl, this is what I call entertainment!"  
  
Suddenly the girl appeared in the room. "Get outta here, I don't need any more entertainment."  
  
"I didn't come to entertain you." She ran toward him with an icicle in her hands. Glacio slid out of the way and stuck out one of his huge fingers. The girl tripped and fell down the hole below the oracles into the basement.  
  
Glacio laughed again and looked back at the flame.  
  
Chapter 20  
  
Link swung again. Finally the creature slumped to the ground, turning to ashes. A glowing cloud floated down and Link grabbed it. He felt cool wind on his face as he touched it. Only one more essence to go. He left the castle, played the song and floated down to the ground. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "What the - " Glacio yelled. Link had won, and he got an essence! Glacio sensed that Link had all the essences - except for one. He had to get it. It seemed that girl held the last essence. He decided to do something about that in the past, before Link could get it. If Link got it, he might get defeated.  
  
He used Nayru's powers to travel back to yesterday. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cat walked through the city. Suddenly she saw Link.  
  
"Link!" Link looked over his shoulder. "How goes the search for essences?"  
  
"Well, I have seven, and I can't sense the last one anywhere, so I don't know where to look."  
  
Cat thought. He probably did need the jewel. Maybe. But.it was so special to her.after her mother died, it was all she had left to remember her by. But Link needed it. Maybe he could give it back after a while. She finally decided to tell him.  
  
"Link, I.I think I have the last essence."  
  
"Really?! Where is it?"  
  
Suddenly there was a flash and Katherine was encased in a crystal. "Now I'm sure he'll be just fine without it. I mean, without it he won't be able to fight me, therefore keeping him safe! Don't you agree?"  
  
"Glacio! Let her out!" Suddenly her head jerked back and she couldn't speak. Even though she couldn't see the ground, she knew she was floating higher and higher. She should've told him before it was too late. It was all her fault. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link stared up at the sky. But it was no use wasting time. He had to look for the essence. Maybe she had it kept safe in her house. After finally arriving there, he knocked on the door. After a minute Max answered the door.  
  
"Oh, it's Cat's boyfriend," he said, "come on in. Where's Katherine?"  
  
"She's still looking for candles," he said, hurrying upstairs.  
  
"Hey! What are you doing?! Just intruding into people's houses? Probably looking at our candles, huh?!" Max's voice muffled as Link shut the door. He glanced around. There, in the corner, there was a chest.  
  
It could be in there. He quickly went over there and tried to open it, but it was locked.  
  
"Great," he thought, and started looking through the drawers. Max came in.  
  
"Hey! HEY! Get out of here! I don't even know why Cat likes you! She must not know you're so - " Link pushed him out the door, sending him tumbling down the stairs, and kept looking for a key.  
  
Chapter 21  
  
Link finally found a key. It fit into the keyhole on the chest, and he turned it slowly. There was a click. He lifted the lid. Inside he saw a jewel, more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen. As he gazed into it, little lights twinkled in it. He looked closer.  
  
There were billions of specks of light, in the shape of a spiral amidst blackness. He couldn't take his eyes off it. It seemed like he was in the jewel, floating by the specks of light.Suddenly it went dark. Farore's face appeared in the jewel.  
  
"It is time I teach you the last song for the flute of wind," she said. "Now listen closely." She sang, and again Link copied her with the flute. "You can only use this once, after that it will do nothing. You must use it once Glacio is weakened. It will suck him into the outer dimension, where he will stay, trapped, forever. Now go to Glacio's castle! Good luck!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link slipped into the hole again. After reaching the main cave, he saw Katherine. She was trapped in a crystal against the wall, unmoving. Link glanced around. There were stairs ahead. He went up them.  
  
Suddenly he ran straight into ice. He looked up. Glacio was standing above him.  
  
"Hello," Glacio said. He picked up Link, carried him the rest of the way up the stairs, and tossed him onto the floor.  
  
Link slid off into the hole and grabbed the edge just in time.  
  
"Let's see what you've got. We'll make a bet. If you defeat me, then you get your hero title and the world will be saved, and I will leave. If you lose, then I get to kill the girl too, and the world will be destroyed."  
  
Link pulled himself up. "I don't make bets," he said.  
  
"Oh come on," Glacio said. "It'll be fun," he chuckled to himself, "for me, at least."  
  
Link was starting to get annoyed. "Fine."  
  
"Good then, let's begin!" Glacio stood tall and raised his arms, forming a sword of ice. Link unsheathed his sword. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Max got up. Man, he was going to teach that guy a lesson. Cat would really be mad when he told her what her boyfriend did. He climbed the stairs. As he opened the door, he noticed the chest Cat had never let him look in was open.  
  
And it was empty. That guy wasn't here any more. "I've got to get that back, whatever it is." He ran downstairs and outside. How would he find him? Suddenly he had a strange urge to go to the mountains. He had first found Cat and her boyfriend at the mountain base, so maybe he should look there. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Glacio yawned as Link desperately swung at him. "Is that all? I thought someone like you would be smarter than to come with only a sword."  
  
Link pulled out the fire rod and swung. "Whoa, careful buddy, you might hurt someone!" he said chuckling as he dodged it.  
  
His plan was working. Link was starting to get mad. Soon he would get tired and let his defenses down. That would be the time. "Not yet," Glacio thought, "not yet."  
  
Chapter 22  
  
Max arrived at the mountain base. "Well well, what's this?" he crouched down and took off his sunglasses. Fresh footprints leading toward that creepy mountain. "What's he up to?" he thought, and set off toward the mountain. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link swung again. "Keep calm, keep calm," he told himself over and over. This guy was really getting on his nerves. He hated that. He couldn't control himself when he was mad. There was no telling what would happen if Glacio continued this.  
  
He pulled out the flute and played the first song he had learned. A blast of wind and Glacio fell over. "Hey, I'm telling!" Glacio said sarcastically as he got up again. He flicked the flute from Link's hands and it rolled down the stairs.  
  
Link grew angrier and looked back at Glacio. "Aww, you're afraid without your precious flute, aren't you? Too bad, so sad."  
  
That was it. Link dashed toward Glacio. Suddenly a huge wall of ice rammed into him and he tumbled down the stairs.  
  
"Looks like I win! Now if you'll be so kind as to - "  
  
"Shut up!" Glacio looked around. Where did that voice come from?!  
  
"Excuse me, did you just tell me to shut up?"  
  
"Yes, I did." Suddenly there was a pain in Glacio's back.  
  
"YOW!" he spun around. There, standing behind him, was the annoying short guy he had dealt with in the future! "What - how did you - " The man held the fire rod Link had had! "How'd you get that?"  
  
"It isn't hard to pick something up from the ground," replied the man, swinging the rod again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Link peeked around the corner. Max was there, fighting Glacio with the fire rod! Glacio was too smart to be hit by that when he knew it was there. It would never work if Max just kept at it like he had. He had a plan. He tried mouthing words to Max whenever he was looking that way.  
  
Max seemed to understand. Link pulled back an arrow. Max lifted the rod and swung it. The flame went far from hitting Glacio, but that was not the plan. Link let go. The arrow flew through the fire and hit Glacio in the back.  
  
The monster yelled and put out the fire. He looked at Link. "How.dare you!!" He grabbed Link and got ready to throw him. Before he could, he felt another scorching pain on his back and dropped Link. Max still had that infernal rod, and he was swinging it over and over again.  
  
He could not fight two of them like this. One of them would have to go.  
  
Chapter 23  
  
Link ran and got bombs out of the bag. He set one and threw it at just the right time, and it exploded, scorching Glacio's back even more. It was starting to melt. Max gave him a thumbs up, and Link picked up a lit stone torch using the golden gauntlets. He threw it and it landed on Glacio's head, making a hissing sound.  
  
"All right, that's IT!" Glacio yelled, throwing the stone across the room. It's time I get serious!"  
  
He raised his arms. The three crystals started spinning.  
  
"Max, get out of here!" Link yelled. Max ran down the stairs. Link covered himself with the mirror shield, peeking out from behind it to see what was happening. As the crystals came lower, spinning faster, glowing brighter, the room itself got darker, and Glacio was engulfed in flame.  
  
The crystals got lower and lower until they surrounded Glacio, still spinning, still glowing. Glacio gave a loud yell and the flames disappeared. "Looks like all your fire is of no use to you now," said Glacio, "I'm completely fireproof. And not to mention, I have the protection of the three oracles. You probably don't want to hit them now, do you?"  
  
Link struggled not to lose his temper again. He raised his arms. Twenty- four essences rotated above his head. Glacio's mouth dropped open. Eight essences of time.eight of nature.eight secret essences.they surrounded Link.  
  
"Two can play that game," Link said, smirking. "One of us will have to play it better if we want to win." He raised his arms. Glacio gasped. Link held the Harp of Ages, the Rod of Seasons, and the Flute of Wind!  
  
Link moved closer and used the three objects to knock each oracle away, the harp for Nayru, the rod for Din, and the flute for Farore. Glacio gasped. Link quickly used the flute and Glacio flew against the wall. He pulled out his bow and shot an arrow with a bomb attached.  
  
It exploded on Glacio's forehead. "It.can't be." Link quickly got out the flute and played the song Farore had taught him last. A huge white hole opened in the wall and Glacio was sucked in. The hole closed and everything was quiet. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Max peeked into the room. Cat's boyfriend was standing there alone. "Where's Glacio?" he asked. The guy pointed at the ground.  
  
"He's gone."  
  
"You defeated him?!" Max yelled with joy. Suddenly he saw the hilt of the master sword sticking out of the man's sheath. "Is - is that - the master sword?!"  
  
The man sighed. "Yes, and I'm Link. I'm not really Katherine's boyfriend, we just pretended to be because we knew you wouldn't believe us. Then that would've wasted a lot of time. And I wasn't looking for candles, I was looking for special things called essences."  
  
Suddenly they noticed the three crystals melting. Max gasped. "Farore!" he ran to her crystal. It finally melted completely, and the three melted crystals formed a colorful pattern on the floor. "Max! Link! You did it!" Farore cried with joy.  
  
"We can't thank you enough for saving us," Nayru said, "but we can at least do something. You may keep the essences, the rod, the harp and the flute. However."  
  
"I knew there would be a catch." Link groaned.  
  
"Got you! I was just kidding, there is no catch. You can either choose to go back to your time or stay here. Which do you choose?"  
  
"You really had me there, I have to say. But I think I would like to go back to my time. Not before saying my good byes, of course," Link replied. Suddenly Cat and Max appeared from the stairs.  
  
"She's all right!" Max said. He saw the look in Link's eyes. Are you.leaving?"  
  
"I have to return to my own time."  
  
Katherine looked at Link. "Do you really have to go?"  
  
"I'm afraid so," Link said. "But.before I go, I have to return this." He took the jewel out of his pocket and handed it to her. She pushed his hand away.  
  
"Please, keep it," she said, "promise you'll remember me every time you see it."  
  
"I promise," Link said. He gave her the bow. "Now remember me," he said.  
  
"I can't take your bow!"  
  
"Don't worry, I have another one back home." Cat looked at the beautiful design.  
  
"Thank you," she said, "I'll remember you."  
  
"Good bye then," Link said to Max, Farore and Katherine.  
  
"Good bye," they replied.  
  
Link, Nayru and Din shot up through the hole and disappeared from view. Max grasped Cat's and Farore's hands and all three of them left the castle.  
  
The End 


End file.
